Amid all the political divide between Israel and Palestine, Jerry Seinfeld’s commencement speech at Duke University propelled protestors to walk out of the ceremony in May 2024. Seinfeld, who is Jewish and has been supportive of Israel following the attacks by Hamas, was given an honorary degree and invited to speak at the prestigious university. While at the podium, several pro-Palestine people proceeded to boo the comedian, while others chanted his name in support. Jerry continued with his speech and stated, “I say, use your privilege. I grew up a Jewish boy from New York. That is a privilege if you want to be a comedian.”
Jerry has yet to address the incident at Duke, but his wife Jessica Seinfeld shared on Instagram, “A small group (about 30-40) of protestors tried to interrupt Jerry’s commencement speech at @dukeuniversity today. Despite their efforts, it had no impact on the ceremony. In fact, they were boo’d and it inspired the crowd of 7,000 to chant ‘Jer-ry! Jer-ry! Jer-ry!’ and applaud even louder.” She continued, “Jerry’s speech was amazing and received a standing ovation from grads and their parents.”
